Themediaisanever–presentpartofourdailylives.Magazineslinecheckoutlanesingrocery stores,televisionsareinstoresandgymsandeveryhome,cellphonescarriedinpocketsallow instantaccesstosocialmediaaswellasdigitalversionsofmagazinesandweb–basedplatformsfor watchingtelevisionshowsandmovies.Thisunlimitedexposureisnotalwaysagoodthing.The benefitsofhavingaccessatanytimetothelatestnewsandentertainmentistemperedbythedamage ofthebodyidealsdemonstratedincommercials,inmagazines,intelevisionshowsandmovies. Everywherewomenlooktheyaretoldtobesmaller,thatsmallerisbeautifulandsmallerisbetter, andmenaretoldthattheyshouldbebigger,strongerandmoremuscularshowmorecontent
Theclosestitcomestocontroversyarestudiessayingthatitisanissueofsocialcomparison,though nonesaywhattheoutcomewouldbeifthecelebritiesmenandwomencomparedthemselvestohad realisticandattainablebodiesandlevelsofbeautyIthasbeenshownthattheeffectonmedia exposureisnotaslastingnorasdamagingtomenasitistowomen,withmenoftenexperiencing onlyaslightdropinbodysatisfactionbuttheirself–esteemremainssteady(Barlett,Vowels,& Saucier, ...Getmorecontent...
Often,peopleofallages,race,andgendercatchthemselvesgazingintomirrorsforhours,blaming themselvesforthewaytheylook,notrealizingthatthemediaisactuallytheonetoblameformany people'sbodyimage.Bodyimageisthewaypeopleseethemselves,orhowtheyassumeother peopleseethem.Itisnotlikelytoseeaplussizedmodelinamagazineoramodelontherunway withblemishesonherfaceAperson'snegativeperceptionoftheirownbodyisnotbecausethey thinkitiswrongtolookandbehealthy;itisbecausethemediaistellingthemthatbeingasize2 withflawlessskinishealthyandbeautiful.Ifsomanypeopleareclaimingthatlooksdonotmatter andbeautyonlyrunsskin–deep,thenwhydoestheshowmorecontent
Basically,thesecompaniesarepromisinghealthyweightlossonlytomakemoney,knowingthatin theend,itisonlyfalseadvertisement.Theworstthingaboutthemediabeingsuchabiginfluenceon childrenandadultsisthatnooneinthemediaiswillingtochangetheobsessionwithperfection.As peoplebecomemoreinfluenced,ill,andprovoked,themediaonlycontinuestoonlypublish magazineswithstickthinmodelswithperfectfeaturesBasically,themediaisdoingnothingbut usingsubliminalmessages.Thewaytheyportraythemodelsinmagazines,itonlyconfusesa human'smind.Thismakesthembelievethattheymustlooklikethemtobeconsideredbeautiful. Ofteninmagazines,whenpositivevalues,success,love,andhappiness,athinpersonisshown.This notonlycompletelylowersa"healthy",oraplussizedperson'sself–esteem,butthemediaalsotries tomakeitseemasifinordertobehappyandsuccessful,apersonmustbeskinny(Piazza)Every day,companiescomeupwithanewbeautyproduct,oranewdietproducttoleersomeoneinto buyingittomakethemselvesbeautiful.Newproductseverydaycompletelysetsasidetheideathat naturalbeautyisalreadybeautifulenoughAccordingtothemedia,though,peopleneedthese productstolookmorehumane,orlookyoungerandthinner.Themediaalsousingeditingand
Howdothemediainfluencefemales?Imagesoffemalebodiesareeverywhere.Women,andtheir bodies,selleverythingfromfoodtocars.Women'smagazinesarefullofarticlesurgingwomento fitacertainmold.Whilestandinginagrocerystorelineyoucanseealldifferentmagazines promotingfashion,weightloss,andthelatestdiet.Althoughthemagazinesdiffer,theyall seeminglyconveythesameidea:ifyouhavetheperfectbodyimageyoucanhaveitalltheperfect marriage,lovingchildren,greatsex,andarewardingcareer.Themedia,whetherTV,print,or Internetadvertising,seemstoplayahugeroleininfluencingwomenofallages;fromadolescence andteens,towomenintheirtwentiesandthirties,aswellasshowmorecontent Itseemsthatyoungerfemalesaremoreapttobelievethatmosteverythingtheyseeinthemediais realisticandattainable,andtheytrytomimicwhattheyseeonTVorreadinmagazines.Theyalso tendtowatchTVshowslikeOneTreeHill,LagunaBeach,andGilmoreGirls.Whydoouryoung femaleslooktothesefictionalcharactersforreallifeanswers?Dotheyseethesecharactersasrole models?Onehastowonderiftheybelievethatiftheymimichowthesecharacterslookandactthey willbelongandthenthey,too,canhavethesameoutcomethecharactersdo.Howmanytimeshave youwalkeddownthestreetandseenan8–or9–year–oldgirlwearingsomethingthatmightbemore appropriateifwornbyanadult?Femalesbetweentheagesof9–12readfashionandbeauty magazines,andtheirexposuretothese"ideal"imagescoincideswithaperiodintheirliveswhere self–regardandself–efficacyisindeclineThisisthesametimeperiodwherebodyimageistiedto self–esteemanditbecomesquitefragileduetophysicalchangesofpuberty.Thisisalsothesame timeframewherethetendencyforsocialcomparisonisatitspeak.Girlsthusfindthemselvesina subcultureofdieting,duetothemessagesgivenbythemediaOverthepast4weeksIhavespoken tomanyadolescentgirls,ages9through12,whocandidlyadmittedtheyhadalreadytrieddieting. These
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BodyImagevs.MediaPerfectionistheultimateaddiction,intheeyesofthemedia.Bodyimageisa problemthatwomenandevenmenhavebeenstrugglingwithforaslongasthemediahasbeen around.Themediaconstantlyputspressureonyoungmenandwomenbrainwashingtheminto thinkingthattheidealbodyimageforwomenissmallandslimandtheidealimageformenis muscularThemediausesinterestingstandardstodefinebeautyTherearedifferentaspectsto beautythatalotoftimes,themediadoesnotexhibit.Forinstancetruebeautycomesthroughdignity andcharacter,notnecessarilythroughhowapersonlooks.Nevertheless,thereisnodenyingthatads doaffectsomeofusWomenandyounggirlsallaroundtheworldareshowmorecontent Untilthephotographersofthemediastoppromotingunhealthyimagesofmodels,Supermodelscan thenlivecare–free.Asakeycomponenttoproductsbeingsold,photographersbelievethatSex sells.InasurveythatIpersonallyconductedIasked5malesand5females,whetherornoterotic imageryofin–shapemen/womeninadvertisementsaffectedtheminanyway.Myresultsproved thatthewomenwerenotintriguedbytheadvertisement,comparedtothemenThemediawillgoas farasthistocaptureyourattentionsothatyoucanreadthewords.Sexhasalwaysbeenahottopic, sousingsexyimagesofmodelsintheeyesofthemedia,isamust.Soonwewillcometothe conclusionthatsexdoesnotsell,itisonlylackofcreativityanditwillsoonbecomeamyth. "Technologyhasbroughtusmany[goodthings],butalsoproblems.Beautyissubjecttoitsmagical touch–upsWhatweseeonmagazinecoversasthemodelofbeautyisn'trealIthinkthat'svery damaging.Celebritiesfeelthispressuretoo.Afewyearsago,Iconsidered[cosmetic]surgery."(Pop singerShakira,TeenPeople,May2006,p.54.)Everythingyousee,whetherit'sanadora magazine,isallfakeThisiscalledthepowerofairbrushingWhatapaintbrushistoapainter,is whatairbrushingistoaphotographer.Airbrushingcantransformamodelwithinseconds."As reportedbyScottSchild,SportsIllustrated2006summerphotointern,inSportsIllustrated's SwimsuitEdition,
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Theissueofdistortingbodyimageinthemediaanditseffectsonpeopleisnotanewconceptto moderntime.Thereisalonghistoryofbodyimage'spowerfulplaceinsocietybecauseofpeople's impressionsofeachotherbasedonbodyimage.Researchhasbeendoneontheeffectsand outcomesofthisissue.Recently,consumershavefoughtwiththemediatotryandachieveasafer waytospreadinformationandletthesemediaoutletsbesuccessfulwithouthavingsevereimpacts onadolescentsespecially,amongotheragegroups.Thegeneralethicalprinciplethatthe stakeholdersuseinthisfightissimilartoutilitarianism,becauseeachstakeholderbelievestheyare bringingthegreatestgoodtothegreatestnumberofpeopleThestakeholdersshowmorecontent Themediagroupthatretouchesimagesskewsthe"normal"bodyimageofpeoplethroughmanyof itsoutlets,includingmodelsinadvertisingandmagazines,andactorsinTVandmovieproductions. "Theaveragemodelportrayedinthemediaisapproximately5'11"and120pounds.Bycontrast,the averageAmericanwomanis5'4"and140pounds"(Holmstrom,2004).Thisstatisticshowshowthe mediamanipulatesconsumersintobelievingthatbecausetheyarenotwhattheaveragemodellooks like,theyarenotlivinguptoacertainstandardwhichimpliesthattheyneedtolooklikethattobe beautiful.Anotherresearchfactthatshowsasimilarconceptisthat,"IntheUnitedStates,94%of femalecharactersintelevisionprogramsarethinnerthantheaverageAmericanwoman,withwhom themediafrequentlyassociatehappiness,desirability,andsuccessinlife"(Yamamiyaetal.,2005). Thisassociationoffemalethinnessandhappiness,desirabilityandsuccessmakesconsumersbelieve theymustachievethisunrealisticthinnesstoachievemoreultimategoalsandfulfillmentinlife.
"Themediaalsoexplicitlyinstructhowtoattainthinbodiesbydieting,exercising,andbody–contouringsurgery,encouragingfemaleconsumerstobelievethattheycanandshouldbethin" (Yamamiyaetal.,2005).Thisidealizationofthinnessinthemediaisseensomuch,andis extremelyharmfultowomen'sselfconfidenceandisoftenassociatedwithbodyimage dissatisfaction,whichcanbeaprecursortosocialanxiety,depression,eatingdisturbances,andpoor self–esteem(Yamamiyaetal.,
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Bodyimagetodayissodrasticallyexaggeratedinimportancethatpeople,oftenadolescents,goto theextremesoftryingtobeperfect.ThemediaiswhatIbelievemakesbodyimagesuchan importantissuethesedays.Itmakespeoplewanttochangeeverythingaboutthemselves,theirlook, theirchoices,andtheirpersonality.Themediaaretheonesalsobringingthisontoadolescents becauseofalltheplacestheyadvertiseTheadultsarealsopeoplethatIwouldblameforthecases ofyoungchildrencausingthemselvestohurtforthingstheyshouldn'tbecaringabout.The indicativethatshowsthatmyfindingsarecorrectareallthecasesthatarereportedabout adolescentsandtheirbodyimageproblemsPlacesthatthemediastressshowmorecontent Theinternetisalsomakingpeoplebelievedifferentlyabouttheirbodies.Ithasthingspostedallthe timedescribinghowabodyshouldbe,andwiththemillionsofpeoplewhogetontheinternet everydayseeingthiscausesthemtobelievethinkdifferentlyabouttheirbodies.Onethingthatthese peoplewhopostblogsupdon'ttellyouisthat,theadolescentstryingtoactlikethesestarsendup gettingpregnantormanyotherthingsForinstance,teenagegirlsthesedaystrytobelikeothergirls onTVandthiscausesthemtobesexuallyactive,andwiththisoccurringnearly1in4girlsages14 to19acquireasexuallytransmitteddisease,asTimeMagazinedescribesit.Italsosaysthatin AfricanAmericangirlsit'sevenmorelikely,1in2girlsobtainasexuallytransmitteddisease. Sexuallytransmitteddiseasesarealsonottheonlythingthatadolescentsobtain.Theother phenomenonthatoccursbecauseofthemediaisthatteenagersthesedaystrytomaketheirbodies perfect,justlikethebodiesofthestarsonTV.Therearemanydifferentwayshowtheycantryto maketheirbodiesperfect.Asthewebsite,MEDIAAWARENESSNETWORKSmentionsit, fasting,skippingmeals,excessiveexercise,laxativeabuse,andself–inducedvomitingareall consideredasunhealthymethodsofmaintainingweight.Someofthesemethodsarealsounderthe nameofAnorexia.Girlsaremainlytheoneswhoturn
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